In a week that can only be described as curious, the Fergus Devils find themselves in the same place they were seven days ago - still in fifth spot, staring at a first-round playoff date with the Erin Shamrocks.
Things got going for the Devils last Thursday night when they suffered a 7-5 loss in Schomberg to the Cougars. They followed that up Saturday night by going in to Erin and hanging on to beat the Shamrocks 6-5. Alliston closed out the weekend for Fergus by thumping the Devils 10-3 Sunday night.
In Schomberg, the Cougars jumped out to a first-period lead they would never surrender. It was 2-0 for the home side before Sean Little got Fergus on the board. Jesse Vantassel put the Cougars back in front by two before the intermission, and TJ Greco made it 4-1 early in the second.
Jesse Booker scored to make it 4-2, but Schomberg opened the third period with a Mackenzie Cleveland goal to make it a comfortable three-goal cushion for the Cougars. Rob Turner and Dylan Cunningham scored five minutes apart to draw the Devils to within a goal of tying the game, but Schomberg found an answer with Brandon Lisi's powerplay goal with three and a half minutes left.
Ethan Jobb scored with 33 seconds to play to make it a one-goal game again, but Cleveland scored into an empty net for his second goal of the night to seal the win.
Turner, Reid Zorzi, Jobb, Cunningham, Brendan Moore and Jessy Kuenzig added helpers in the loss. Dave Bartolomucci 43 saves on 48 shots) took the loss in goal while Moore stopped five of six shots in relief.
Saturday night in Erin, the Devils jumped all over the Shamrocks for five goals in the first period and then held on for the win.
Booker (2), Cunningham (2) and Zorzi all scored in the first period, but the Devils led just 5-2 after 20 minutes. Zorzi added his second of the night midway through the second period, but the Shamrocks got goals from Mark O'Blenis and Kyle McMillan to trim the lead to 6-4 after the second. Nick Pereira made it 6-5 a little more than eight minutes into the final frame, but the Shamrocks couldn't close the gap and Fergus held on for the win.
Dan Verta, Jobb, Branden Bauer, Zack MacPherson, Turner and Brock West added assists in the win, while Bartolomucci picked up the victory between the pipes.
Sunday against the Hornets, it was a mess for the Devils from the start. Alliston scored five times in the first period to take control of things, never letting the Devils get any closer than four goals down after that.
No individual scoring information was available for the game at press time.
Following their loss to Alliston, Devils coach Eddy Gaffney said he didn't think guys came ready to play in Schomberg but they were more than ready in Erin.
"We played the systems we wanted to and we played them well," he said. "I think we need one more win to lock up fifth spot, but we're going to try and win both of our remaining games. We need to try and get on a roll going into the playoffs."
While the win over Erin might not be as meaningful in the short term, Gaffney said he's hoping the team can build off of that if they wind up drawing the Shamrocks in Round 1 of the post-season.
"I think they finally realized that if they put the hard work in, this is a team that's capable of winning," he said. "If we don't work, this series could end very quickly, but if they put the work that's necessary in, it could be over quickly in our favour."
Fergus finishes the regular season this week with two games - a road date in Stayner on Thursday, Feb. 4, and a home date against Schomberg on Friday, Feb. 5. Game time against the Cougars is set for 8:30 p.m.